Opportunity

This adaptive reuse project entailed the conversion of the three-storey 25,000 sf former Schreiter’s Furniture building (c. 1890) located at 27 Gaukel St in downtown Kitchener, Ontario into the new headquarters for North, maker of Focals smart glasses technology. The project scope included restoration of the existing “brick and beam” warehouse shell, including heritage masonry restoration, new windows and doors, and re-roofing, and the renovation of the interior for use as open office space which is planned to foster creativityand collaboration.

Response

The overhaul of the buildings interiors involved the installation of contemporary new finishes throughout and all new Mechanical and Electrical systems. At the centre of the plan is a modern steel framed staircase with open wood treads and glass guards positioned directly below a large skylight that brings daylight into the core of the existing warehouse building.